- Indiegogo has announced a new program it calls Shipping Guarantee.
- In this program if a backer experiences a shipping delay caused by the campaigner, they will be refunded.
- Participation in the program requires vetting from the platform.
Anybody who has backed a failed crowdfunding campaign for a failed product, game, or service knows that getting your money back is a bit of a chore.
Truthfully, this is more of an issue when the campaign is run by shysters who prey on the excitement of folks who want or need a product they’ve dreamed up. See the Cicret Bracelet as an example.
Most crowdfunding platforms have some sort of mechanism to process refunds more effectively, but now Indiegogo has introduced a better way.
That way is the Shipping Guarantee program.
Essentially, if you back a campaign and the product doesn’t ship on time, you get a full refund.
“This program represents a significant milestone in fostering trust within the crowdfunding community,” explains Becky Center, chief executive officer of Indiegogo. “By providing a guarantee that your perks will ship or your money back, we are enhancing the overall crowdfunding experience and encouraging more people to support innovative projects.”
However, this program isn’t open to all campaigns and in order to qualify, campaigners will need to:
- Have a proven track record of successful crowdfunding on Indiegogo;
- Have a product in the final stages of manufacturing;
- Be accepted into the program by Indiegogo’s Trust and Safety team, as well as a campaign strategist.
Cognisant of the fact that nothing is ever really set in stone, campaigners do have scope to delay shipping. However, the onus is on the campaigner to communicate with backers and Indiegogo regarding these delays.
“If delays are unavoidable, work with Indiegogo to manage backer communications and explore possible solutions,” the platform states in an FAQ.
The first campaign to be a part of this program is the HOVERAir a flying 8K camera.
The platform says that this program should help give backers confidence that they campaign they are backing isn’t going to sneak off with their money and never deliver a product.
While we welcome this new program, we genuinely thought that this was already a feature on Indiegogo. Better late than never we guess.
